Peter Nannucci: Newton Centre rezoning petition has precedence

Sunday

Mar 16, 2014 at 9:20 PMMar 16, 2014 at 9:20 PM

I read with interest the March 5 letter to the editor from Sue Flicop, president of the League of Women Voters Newton titled "No Piecemeal Zoning." I wish to offer a counter perspective on the Newton Centre rezoning petition.Flicop mentions that this petition is inconsistent with the Comprehensive Plan. The Comprehensive Plan, however, is itself inconsistent, advocating for preserving neighborhood character yet also urging greater density. Flicop also maintains that because the neighborhood in question is within a quarter-mile of a T stop it should be zoned multifamily. The problem with blanket judgments like this is that Newton Centre, like most of Newton, was established prior to zoning. It is therefore impossible to define where itís appropriate to have higher density multifamily and where to allow only single-family residences based purely on proximity to public transportation. Zoning should also allow for the existing housing in a given neighborhood to be taken into account. It does, yet similar sections equally close to the Newton Centre T stop in other directions like Chesley Road, also a mix of single and multifamily homes, are zoned single-family.Flicop worries about setting a precedent for rezoning other transit-friendly and walkable neighborhoods. In 1999, a similar petition was approved unanimously for the Stratford Road neighborhood in West Newton. In 2002, two other sections of existing neighborhoods were similarly rezoned in Thompsonville and Auburndale. Not only did these actions not result in a flurry of rezoning petitions, they succeeded in maintaining the existing character, openness, tree canopy, affordability and diversity--characteristics which initially drew the Newton Centre residents to their neighborhood, and which are all cited in the Comprehensive Plan. This petition allows them some limited protection from overdevelopment, in contrast to what Ms. Flicop would apparently prefer to impose on the area.--Peter Nannucci, Chaske Avenue